Takeaway: You are probably neglecting high-velocity work in your own vertical jump training. If you’re decently strong, you should be using band assisted jumps to develop velocity. If you’re weak as a kitten, you should also use them, but most of your focus should be on increasing strength.

2) You Should Be Using Concentric-Only Work

Research: A high vertical jump requires high-velocity strength.

High-velocity strength requires fast twitch muscle fiber recruitment.

To recruit these fibers, you need a high rate coding (speed of the signal being sent to the muscle).

Sidenote: Concentric-only training reduces muscle slack – which is a major performance-limiter according to Frans Bosch (read here, point #8). Normal heavy strength training increases muscle slack because of the large countermovement. Concentric-only training seems to be a good way to develop explosive strength while also decreasing muscle slack – there is no countermovement so you are forced to actively pre-tension, therefore decreasing slack.

Concentric-only should not make up all of your lifting. You still need to build robustness and strength of muscles and tendons with eccentrics and isometrics. But they can enhance vertical jump in areas no other training can – ensuring fast twitch fiber recruitment, decreasing muscle slack, and increasing high-velocity strength.

3) You Should Squat with Band-Resistance

Simple Explanation:When you jump, you accelerate all the way until takeoff. When you perform a typical heavy squat, you do not accelerate all the way to the top otherwise you would leave the ground. Probably not safe with heavy weight on your back. Therefore, regular squats don’t totally mimic the force profile of a vertical jump.

Bands provide an easy solution. With band tension increasing as the bar moves upwards, it’s impossible to get ‘lazy’ and rely on acceleration ‘out of the hole’ like you do in a typical squat.

Accelerating all the way through the concentric phase makes squatting more specific to the nature of vertical jumping.

Sidenote: Chains can be used during slow eccentric or isometric-hold training, but when you perform squats quickly, bands are preferred. This is because they actively pull you down, increasing eccentric velocity. Ability to use a high eccentric velocity is associated with countermovement jump height.

Takeaway:Add bands to your typical strength exercises. You will still target similar strength adaptations, but it will more closely mirror the vertical jump.